toffee, a weiner dog, and holiday cheer

Last night I went to the Festival of Trees with my sister and my parents. For all those non-utahns out there, the Festival of Trees is a charity for Primary Children's Hospital. People from all over the US bring their children to this hospital because of the care and capabilities of it's staff and doctors.

Here at the Festival, people decorate trees, nativity scenes, gingerbread houses and then they are auctioned off. All proceeds are then given to the hospital.

Most of the trees come from people who had children or family members who once received treatment at the hospital. It is difficult to walk around and see some of those little babies and children who battled some pretty horrible disease. I cannot read most of the stories - they are too heartbreaking.

When Jack had his eye surgery up at Primary Children's, it was a very humbling event for Ryan and I. Jack had a condition called, Estropia - which is basically a crossing of the eyes. I often laugh with Ryan, that when the doctor first asked if we saw this crossing often in photos and throughout the day. I said no - now realizing a mother's love is blind, we look back at photos and can't believe how crossed they were.

So at 6 months, Jack had eye surgery. Our amazing doctor was able to snip both of the muscles attched to both eyes and reattach them further back to correct the crossing. You can never quite prepare yourself for that moment, when all is out of your control. When I had to hand my little marshmellow over to the nurse and just watch them walk away and wait. It was incredibly heart wrenching. But the doctor's and nurses were the best of the best and Jack has not needed a surgery since, nor has he needed any type of corrective eye wear. The staff at Primary Children's is amazing.

That day - now several years behind us - will always stand out in my mind. Our surgery was scheduled for first thing in the morning - he could not eat, so they would try and fit in the younger kids first. Most of you with kids know a waking baby in the morning only wants one thing, food! So we quickly packed him up and hoped he would just fall back asleep in the car. We planned everything down to the very last minute so it would not be too much of an ordeal for him to not have his usual breakfast.

Unfortunately, the surgeries before us took longer then expected and we ended up waiting over 8 hours past our scheduled morning time. I still don't know how Jack, at 6 months, went without eating from 8 o'clock the night before until 2 in the afternoon. I spent all those hours walking the halls of the hospital trying to keep him distracted and happy. My heart would sink into my chest everytime I saw other little children there. Some just babies - others in their teens. While Jack's surgery was serious - it was nothing compared to what I was surrounded with. It was very humbling to see.

You walk around the aisles of the Festival - you see these photos of these children and family members. Some children survived, some passed on. The trees are dedicated, not only their honour and memory, but many times to those who treated them at the hospital.

The Festival earns a great deal of money for the hospital and is such a great cause. There is also a gift shop located inside the Fesitival where all the items are mostly all handmade and donated completely for purchase at the Festival and also for the hospital to take after the event is over. I picked up this little "get better wishes" weiner dog for the boys playroom. It was only a buck and I loved the type on it and handmade look of it.

So if you have nothing to do this week, head over to the South Towne Expo Center. Iit is only $3 or $4 bucks to get in. It is this week only and a great way to get into the Christmas spirit and mood.

I recommend checking out the amazing stainglass and blown glass tree on isle L or M, the monster-sized gingerbread castle, and of course, the gift shop and goodies isle where you can buy all sorts of toys, beanies, blankets, yummy toffee, handmade treats, and support the hospital that is responsible for taking care of our little angels.